Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we diet!

A few weeks ago, the minister at one of our local churches (one of the few I have visited in an attempt to find a spiritual home here) spoke out of Ecclesiastes. Tonight, I experienced what he meant.

He taught that we should "eat, drink and be merry", because life is short and unpredictable. Tonight I ate, drank and was merry and remembered what he said. It's true! We can never solve all the world's problems, or even all our own problems. Life will always have an element of surprise and absurdity. The question is: Do you stop living and freak out about everything that's wrong with the world, or do you savour and enjoy that which is good?

I don't think he meant that we should stop trying to make a difference, but that we should not be swallowed up by the big black hole that is everything that is wrong with the world.

Amidst all the muck and blood, sweat and tears that our lives sometimes become, we have to take the time to sit with friends and loved ones and just enjoy! Laugh, joke, philosophise, eat, drink and be merry, because tomorrow will bring its share of problems, whether we agonise over it or not. But, tomorrow cannot rob of us the joy we created and memories we made today.

I thank God for friends and family who love me and who have given me years of joy and wonderful memories and continue to do so every day just by being who they are and sharing of themselves with me.

After big things

So, the wedding has come and gone and life has returned to "normal". "Normal", in the sense that things go on and also "normal" in the sense that the wedding of one friend, coupled with the new relationship in another's, has brought to the forefront all my old thoughts and fears about still being single. I like being single - doing my own thing, spending my money the way I want to, having the bathroom to myself - all great things, but...

One does wonder.

What would it be like? What would I do differently? What would I enjoy? What would bug me? In short: what am I missing? Question to the void: Any thoughts?

Big things

One of my best friends it getting married this week. What an awesome, scary, huge, strange thing marriage is!

Realising the significance of her decision has been surprisingly difficult for me. Knowing that she wants to share her life with someone has evoked some fear in me. Fear that she won't be happy, fear that he will change and hurt her, fear that the marriage will change her and fear that their marriage will affect our friendship.

But love drives out fear and, in this case, the love that I know God has for them. He is walking this path with them and guiding their footsteps. Nobody knows what life will throw at them, but those of us who know God know that He walks with us and that we can bring our fears and burdens to Him and "God's peace, which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount over our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

I still worry, because I care, but the job of looking after them and their marriage is not mine. My job is to be her friend, to faff over her hair and nails on Saturday morning and to pray that God will bless them.

Mmmmm... Promising

Just started reading "Zealous Love: A Practical Guide to Social Justice". It promises to be an eye-opener, so watch this space. Love without action is not love.

Who dares?

Ok, so a respected pastor and author dares to remind us that we do not know, nor are we allowed to judge, who goes to heaven and he is called a heretic?! http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/19/rob-bell-punches-back-against-claims-of-heresy/

The fact that I happen to like and agree with what I have read from Rob Bell in no way colours my surprise at this craziness! Who are we to say we know? Last time I checked, God is in charge of deciding what happens to us after we die and, as a Christian, I believe that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son", so that we all may know His great love and mercy and grace!

Jesus judged no one. He visited with and made friends with people from every possible sphere of society - from generals to prostitutes - and shared His love with all of them. His last prayer for His own executors was a prayer of love; that they be forgiven - brought into God's grace.

Can anyone honestly say that they know what goes on in somebody's spirit based on failures they see on the outside? If that were true, we are all condemned to Hell, because we all fail all the time. That's the point, isn't it? We cannot reconnect with God on our own, because we fail, so He gave us a way - Grace.

How and when each individual comes, or doesn't come, to know God's grace is not for me to judge. How God deals with each individual's response to his grace is most definitely not for me to dictate!

A night under the stars.

Tonight we celebrated the opening of the new school where I teach, under the African stars. Children danced, mommies clapped and cheered, the principal made a speech and the founders of the school lit a torch. The choir sang and we sang. It was wonderful to be a part of it. Not many people have the privilege of being a part of the birth of something that represents the fulfilment of a vision like this - of making a place where the community will grow and learn and create new opportunities for the future. The sights and sounds, lights and colours reminded me of one of my (and many others') old favourite paintings - alive with colour and energy. An oldie, but a goodie!

True equality?

Another thought-provoking idea from Fr Richard Rohr: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=isz87kdab&v=001u8SjZbUCyfMyVIu8TWCzkY8KfEL6fM5MPFUhTp75vr0UiMm9Rtp8lppnudMsAVhXBMcdgiwUEwm5qpPLYuAP0MqMHRr6DQzWhKxs84OAbelmjtiNL1AR7efjVPNrn1CKg_TnP3VjvP3Ft8fHToFoqb9sjwmHmo85tcWoWu5iOhfbb5zB4pTVLVeIHrsIdH1XeU_fo4dOR0UiTE7dWR56XYMiGerR9_pGaIG1SeAuSXZkFgbC35SQHizhcGJp03xtQZ9i9fid0gxzTuu7e_D9VkVb36DInHwDLkb6bHFbqs5pvPnOt8s5eqdEZmxPOCUO-6RUpzdYiD-GF7DUC2tPe7-MEPX9TF66DVUyNb9vjVc%3D